Method of making imitation astrakhan



Nov. 5, 1940.

A. UNGER METHOD OF MAKING IMITATION ASTRAKi'IAN Fi1ed May 25, 1938 w W/Wh INVENTOR. Abra/2am finial" ATTORNEY. v

' Patented Nov. 5, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF MAKINGIMITATION ASTBAK HAN Application May 25. 1938, Serial No. 210,081

2Claims.

The present invention relates to artificial or synthetic furs and moreparticularly to a method of making such fabrics resembling astrakhan orthe like.

Synthetic furs resembling astrakhan or Persian lambs wool are usedextensively for womens coats and for trimmings for coats, hats or otherwearing apparel. Many attempts have been made to simulate astrakran,usually, by attaching irregular loops of chenille yarn to a backingmaterial such as cloth or the like.

-The difiiculty with synthetic astrakhan fur or cloth used heretofore,is that the fibers at the underside of the chenille yarn readily worktheir way to the top surface of the fur to increase the fuzziness ofthe'fur in spots and to expose the backing material at other spots.Gluing the yarn to the backing material has been found unsatisfactorybecause rough usage or inclement weather causes the fibers to beseparated from the backing material whereby the appearance of the fur isimpaired. In addition, the glue saturates the fibers of the yarn andspoils the woolly appearance thereof. Other difliculties of the presentprocesses are that astrakhan cannot be readily cut because the chenilleravels at the cut edges. Also, certain existing methods of making thecloth are not suitable for making long lengths or .bolts.

The present invention aims to minimize or overcome the above dimcultiesby providing an improved method of making cloth of the class described,in which the chenille is securely held in position and impairment of thecloth, both in appearance and texture, as a result of wear and roughusage, is reduced to a minimum. The invention also provides an improvedmethod of manufacture which is particularly adapted to provide a clothwith the above advantages and to manufacture long lengths or boltsof theime proved cloth rapidly and at a low cost.

An object of the present invention isto provide an improved method ofmaking synthetic fur which has the appearance and characteristics ofgenuine astrakhan.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved method forsecuring the undersidea method of making improved artificial astrakhanfur which is readily out without loosening or ravelling of the yarn atthe cut edges.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple inexpensive andmore rapid method of making artificial astrakhan.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method of makingsynthetic fur resembling astrakhan in'continuous lengths or bolts.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon anunderstanding of the 10 illustrative embodiment about to be described,or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages notreferred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employmentof the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes ofillustration 'anddescription and is shown in the accompanying drawing,forming a part of the specification, wherein Fig. l is a top plan view'of a piece of synthetic astrakhan or Persian lambs wool made by thepresent method;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged schematic end view of a portion of the clothillustrating the chenille 25 secured to the backing member;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged schematic perspective view of a portion of astrand of chenille illustrating the manner in which the lower ends ofthe fibers are held in place and prevented from uncurling;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of an apparatus illustrating one way ofpracticing the preferred method of making the astrakhan;- and Fig. 5 isa diagrammatic view illustrating an other method of applying theadhesive.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, there is shown-in Figs. 1and 2, synthetic astrakhan or Persian lambswool which is made bysecuring chenille yarn l or the like to a cloth backing member 2 havingan open weave 3 shown-in Fig. 1. Any other suitable backing materialsuch as gauze or screening may be used, if desired.

The chenille yarn illustrated herein preferably is substantiallycircular in section and comprises relativelysoft strands or fibers 4 ofsilk,

dyed any suitable color, and two or more mountingthreadsi twisted abouttufts of silk strands at substantially the middle thereof (Fig. 2). Thefree ends 8 of the strands or fibers are curled or swirled substantiallyspirally to simulate lambs wool and are kept in curled position bysubjecting them to heat during the curling op-- eration. If desired, thechenille yarn may be 55 The chenille yarn preferably is arranged inirregular loops on the backing member to create the appearance ofastrakhan and is sewed thereto by threads or stitches I. The stitchesextend transversely across the mounting threads 5 and are spacedrelatively close to each other along the length of the yarn to preventraising of theyam in spots and to prevent it from being pulled bodilyupwardly. Due to the softness of the strands 4, the stitches are pulleda through the upper portions of the yarn to sink into proximity with themounting threads 5 so that the stitches are concealed by the upperportions of the yarn. To further conceal the threads I, they are formedof the same material and have the same color as the strands 4 of theyarn. Preferably, the stitches do not crush the yarn or substantiallydistort the circular section of the yarn, but are, entirely concealed.

After the sewing operation has been performed, a. thin latex solution 8,a suitable rubber cement or other satisfactory adhesive, which isodorless, waterproof and pliable when dry, is applied to the side of thebacking member opposite the side upon which the yarn is mounted. Theadhesive is directed through the openings 3 of the backing member intocontact with the ends of the strands or fibers l at the lower portion ofthe yarn to secure the strands to the backing member.

The adhesive is not required to prevent the chenille from separatingfrom the backing 2 as the stitching adequately performs that function.Therefore, a thin coating of a' thin adhesive may be utilized forholding the lower curled ends of the fibers in place and for preventingthe chenille yarn from turning. Very little adhesive is necessary forthis purpose. By applying the adhesive from the underside of the backing2, the chenille is not saturated with or subjected to an excess ofadhesive which would impair the lustre or curly appearance of thefinished cloth. The open weave of the backing insures uniformdistribution of the latex or other adhesive. In addition, the adhesiveadheres to and stiifens the backing and increases the weight thereof,which makes the cloth morelike fur. By sewing the chenille to thebacking prior to the application of the latex, high speed sewingmachines or schiflii" machines can be utilized as the backing offerslittle resistance and no adhesion to the needles piercing it.

In the finished cloth, the lower fibers cannot be twisted or pulled upto increase the number of fibers atthe top and create a fuzzy appearancein spots as they are held in place by the adhesive. Also twisting oruncurling is minimized in the upper fibers which are not adhered to thebacking by the latex, but which. are intermediate or adjacent theadhered fibers. For example, as shown in Fig. 3, the lower ends ll ofcertain fibers or strands are adhesively secured to the backing memberwhile the ends l2 of other fibers or strands are not. Due to the curlingoperation to which the chenille yarn is subjected prior to mounting it,the curled fibers which do not extend sufficiently near the backing tobe adhered to it, are entwined with or intermediate fibers which areheld in place by the latex. The adjacent secured fibers protect and, toa considerable extent, hold in place the adjacent or entwined fiberswhich have not been adhesively secured to the backing. In the event thatthe fiber ends, out of contact with the backing, are forcibly uncurledor raised, they have a tendency to curl into place or can be ironed orpressed into place to restore the appearance of the fur, due to theadjacent fibers being held in place. If the unadhered fibers are raisedand do not return to their original position, the backing 2 is notexposed because there are sufficient adhered lower strands or fibers ofthe chenille yarn to cover the backing member and present acurly, woolyappearance.

A preferred method of making the imitation astrakhan, fur or clothdescribed above, is illustrated in Fig. 4. This method comprises thesteps of first sewing the chenille yarn to the backing 2,

applying a latex solution or the like to the underside of the backing,spreading and forcing it through the openings thereof, partly drying thelatex, and pressing the lower fibers or strands of the chenille yarnagainst the latex on the backing member.

Preferably, the method is carried out by contlnuously passing longlengths or bolts of backing material 2 having chenille I sewed on oneside thereof over a supporting roller I5 and spraying an atomized orfinely divided stream of latex or other adhesive 8 on the side of thebacking material opposite the yarn. The spraying means employed may be ahand operated compressed air sprayer or a perforated pipe l6 extendingsidewise across the moving astrakhan. When the latex is sprayed orotherwise directed on the backing 2, it passes through the openings 3thereof to contact and adhere the strands or fibers In at the undersideof the chenille yarn and permeates the backing to increase its weightand stiffness, thereby giving a greater resemblance to fur.

In order to provide a uniform film or layer of latex, the astrakhanmaterial is passed between a pair of rollers I1 and I8. Preferably, therollers exert slight pressure on the material to spread the latexsubstantially uniformly and to v through the oven at such a rate ofspeed or iskept therein a sufficient length of time so that the latexbecomes tacky or sticky, but is not completely dried. The backingmember, by being material of an open weave or mesh, facilitates rapiddrying at low temperature and eliminates the necessity of hightemperature.

After leaving the oven, the astrakhan material passes between a pair ofpressing rollers 2| and 22, which exert sufiicient pressure to firmlyembed the lower portions of the yarn into the tacky latex at [0 (Fig.2). The pressure exerted by the rollers 2| and 22 is uniform through thewidth of the astrakhan material, whereby no undesirable surfaceirregularities are created. Also, the chenille retains its substantiallycircular crosssection, due to the curled fibers being sufficiently denseto reassume their original shape. Further drying of curing of the latexmay be effected by hanging the astrakhan material on racks or the like,or by passing it through another drying chamber.

In Fig. 5 another method of applying the adhesive is illustrated whichcomprises passing the astrakhan material between an upper roller 24 aaasaa and a lower roller 2!, with the chenille yarn i'acing upwardly, andapplying the adhesive by means oi the lower roller 25. The adhesive maybe applied to the lower roller 25 in any suitable manner, for example,by rotating the roller 25 through a supply oi adhesive in a receptacle26. The adhesive when applied to the cloth in this manner will beuniformly distributed. The spreading,- drying and pressing steps may beperformed thereafter as described in connection with Fig. 4.

It will be seen that the present invention provides an improvedsynthetic fur, resembling astrakhan or lambs wool, made by a rapid,inexpensive, practical method. The chenille yarn cannot ravel becausethe strands or fibers are firmly secured to the backing material. Thesewing prevents the yarn from being pulled bodily upwardly and the latexor other adhesive need only hold the strands or fibers in place. Byapplying the latex from the underside oi the back ing member and partlydrying the latex before pressing the yarn against the backing member,

the danger of soaking or saturating the chenille yarn with latex iseliminated. At the same time,

the backing member, by being impregnated withlatex, is waterprooied andrendered more like the skin of a natural fur. The synthetic iur can bemade in long lengths or bolts by a. continuous method. The bolts can becut into pieces of desired size without shedding of the chenille at thecut edges because the fibers and the stitches 9 are secured to thebacking member. The artificial astrakhan described herein, is attractivein appearance and can more readily withstand any rough usage to which itmay be subjected.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangementoi the parts herein without departing from the spirit and scope oi theinvention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be.understood that all matter herein is to-be interpreted as illustrativeand not in a limiting sense. I

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A method of making artificial fur oi the class described, comprisingthe steps in the following sequence of stitching chenille yarn formed byfibers secured to and curled about a plurality of twisted threads on oneside of a. backing member having an open weave, spraying an adhesivethrough the openings in the backing member from the other side of thebacking member, spreading the adhesive, partly drying the adhesive, andpressing the fibers at the underside of the yarn against the backingmaterial. after the partial drying operation.

2. A method of making artificial fur of the class described, comprisingthe steps, in the following sequence of stitching chenille yarn, formedby fibres secured to and curled about a. plurality oi twisted threads,ona backing member formed of material having an open weave and tree fromadhesives, directing a latex solution through the' openings in thebacking member after the chenille yarn has been stitched thereto,partially drying the latex solution to form a tacky mass, pressing thefibres at the underside of the yarn against the tacky latex on thebacking member to secure the yarn and the stitches thereto, andcompleting the drying oi the latex.

ABRAHAM UNGER.

